COCHRANE: N.S. athletes impressed at all levels

The international exploits of Nova Scotia athletes like Mark de Jonge are now common daily sports news. (MARK GOUDGE / File)

The most significant Nova Scotia sporting achievement in 2013 wasn’t limited to any one particular sport or event.

It was the general increase in success by Nova Scotia athletes, realized in several different sports at competitions outside the province.

Certainly in professional hockey, a growing contingent of Nova Scotians, headed by Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand and now Nathan MacKinnon, gains more prominence each year. And we saw what several of our best amateurs could do when they contributed to the Halifax Mooseheads’ memorable season.

Greater strides are also being made at the elite international amateur levels. Nova Scotia had an impressive 49 athletes competing in nine different world amateur championships in 2013, according to Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic’s figures.

The positive exploits of international athletes such as paddler Mark de Jonge, gymnast Ellie Black, runner Jenna Martin and the many other Nova Scotians competing on the world stage are now common daily sports news.

The same emergence was evident in the younger ranks during this summer’s Canada Games in Quebec. Team Nova Scotia’s 316 athletes brought home the province’s largest haul ever — 56 medals, including 16 gold, 18 silver and 22 bronze — to place an impressive fifth in the overall team standings. Paddlers won 28 of those medals, but there were other large contributors such as the 13 medals won in athletics.

These 2013 accomplishments paint a bright picture of the future of sport in this province, especially if the present level of government sport investment continues and the essential infrastructure is maintained.

Here are more of the year’s best and worst:

Most overdue event: The announcement that Saint Mary’s and St. F.X. had won the right to host the 2015 and 2016 CIS men’s hockey championships at the Halifax Metro Centre is welcome news for hockey fans. The University Cup has never been held here, as basketball’s Final 8 dominated the spring university offering for so long. Hopefully, enthusiasm for the nationals can help revive Halifax’s interest in AUS hockey.

Sport on its deathbed: Pro boxing is just about kaput in Nova Scotia. A small crowd at a summer card in Africville and a woeful turnout for a poorly promoted fall show at the Halifax Forum complex indicate that the public is no longer interested in buying what pro boxing in Halifax is selling.

Sign of changing times: Three peewee AAA coaches in the Acadia Minor Hockey Association were suspended for a year following accusations they offered players cash rewards for hard checks and used inappropriate language with their players. Even hockey has to learn to adjust to changing times.

Most innovative development: The numbers prove that AUStv.ca, allowing fans to follow live broadcasts of just about every AUS game being played, is a definite winner. It means wider exposure for the AUS product and, eventually, a much-needed new source of funding.

Most uphill battle: In July, the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Commission said it was closing Truro Raceway due to financial problems. Eventually, racing continued on an abbreviated schedule. There are plans to keep racing alive at the track next year, but in this changing market, it will be an uphill battle.

Most positive event: The IWK 250, the huge late-summer stock car race held at Riverside International Speedway, continued to be notable for crowds in the range of 10,000 fans paying big prices for tickets, for the inclusion of top invited drivers like NASCAR Sprint Cup points champion Brad Keselowski and the generosity of track owner John Chisholm. At this summer’s race, Chisholm announced he was donating $1 million to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

Worst loss of momentum: Cole Harbour’s UFC lightweight contender T.J. Grant scored the biggest win of his career in May with a knockout victory at UFC 160. Grant, 21-5, appeared on his way to a certain title shot. Unfortunately for him, he missed title fight opportunities in August and December due to a concussion suffered in a summer training session.

Most puzzling decision: In a tough economy, everyone accepts that cuts may happen in university varsity sports. Yet the St. F.X. administration’s decision to scrap its women’s volleyball team, to save only $120,000, was a puzzling and largely unpopular move. Surely, a cut of this size could have been shared among all the existing varsity programs.